A MULTI-DIMENSIONAL SERVICE DELIVERY AMONG MOBILE NETWORK PROVIDERS IN GHANA: A CASE OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

The aim of the study was to identify the dimensions of mobile telecommunication services in Ghana as well as to develop a model to identify consumer satisfaction. The research was a non-experimental, explorative, quantitative study. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of hundred (300) participants from the University of Ghana.The result showed that the majority of the respondents were satisfied with the overall mobile service offered by their service providers. From the results, call quality was found to be the most important determinant of consumer satisfaction with mobile telecommunication services (β = 0.276, t= 5.729, P< 0.001).This was followed by Network charges (β =0.209, t= 4.344, P< 0.01). In conclusion, the study results suggests that customer niche is a very peculiar one, with several unique characteristic with regards to their demographic and preferences and therefore should be targeted with the kind marketing activities that is likely to interest the

Body Image and Eating Disorders among Female Students: A Pilot Nutritional Psychology Study in Ghana

Body image and eating disorders have emerged as an essential facet of bio-psychosocial well-being. Although considered less prevalent in Ghana than in the West, body image and eating disorders are issues of global concern. One hundred (100) female participants with a mean age of approximately 21 years were recruited after informed consent for this pilot study. Results showed a positive correlation between body image and eating disorders. In addition, there was no significant difference between the levels of university education on female body image and eating distortions in Ghana. These findings underscore the importance for more future studies in nutritional psychology and related clinical management

Psychometric Properties of a Safety Culture Index among Mental Health Workers in Ghana

Safety culture among mental health workers is essential, especially in developing countries where workplace safety seems neglected. However, few studies have provided detailed psychometric analyses of convenient safety instruments with practical relevance for the healthcare industry in the Sub-Saharan African context. We sampled 574 (54.4 % females, 45.6 % males) mental health workers from three Specialist Psychiatric Teaching Hospitals in Ghana. Initially, we collected data using adapted items from Edkins and Coakes’ 25-item Airline Safety Culture Index (ASCI). Consequently, we conducted a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) using the Diagonally Weighted Least Squares estimator. We also used the item reduction analysis (Gradual Response Model) to reduce the adapted 25-item scale to 11 items (Modified Safety Culture Index, MSCI- 11). Finally, we conducted reliability analyses (alpha and omega) for the MSCI-11. We observed that the data in the CFA showed adequate fit indices [χ2 (df = 44, N = 574) = 223.752, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.975; TLI = 0.968; RM- SEA = 0.084 (CI 90 % 0.074- 0.096); SRMR = 0.063]. The MSCI- 11 is parsimonious and has good reliability estimates [α = 0.853 (95 % CI 0.835 – 0.870) and ω = 0.853 (95 % CI 0.837- 0.087)]. Future studies should use additional cross-validation in other high-risk jobs to generalise the new scale

Role of Clinical Neuropsychologists in the Evaluation and Management of Diabetes Mellitus in Ghana: A Position Statement

Ghana’s Ministry of Health is gradually improving the state of mental health among patients with biomedical conditions. Nonetheless, many recent studies have showed that some chronic medical conditions present cognitive deficits that need specialist evaluation and care. The aim of this paper is to provide a summary analysis regarding the current need for neuropsychologists in Ghana’s diabetes care. The rationale is to move for a paradigm shift with regards to the current state of diabetes care in Ghana. Thus, it advocates for policy reform in the management of DM and the inclusion of neuropsychologists among Ghana’s existing structure for diabetes care

Fear experiences of social media users in Ghana during the COVID-19 pandemic-lockdown: An online survey

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is known to place a burden of fear upon individuals in the affected communities. This is mainly due to the unregulated circulation of misinformation, conspiracy theories, and fear messages on social media. During a three-week partial lockdown of some cities in Ghana, with high rate of COVID-19 cases, many social media users were exposed to the global pandemic of COVID-19 misinformation. As there exists little empirical data on the topic, we used an online survey to explore the lived fear experiences of social media users in Ghana. To understand their experiences, data from 27 persons who lived in Accra, Tema, and Kumasi were collected via a qualitative online survey between 21st April and 10th May 2020. Using Colaizzi's 7-step analytical approach, we conducted a phenomenological analysis for participants' (29.6 % males and 70.4 % females) text data until we reached data saturation. We observed that respondents shared varied fear experiences during the lockdown. Participants' fears included (1) fear of risk for COVID-19 infection, (2) fear of using a health facility, (3) fear of impending scarcities of essential home commodities, (4) fear of economic crisis, and (5) fear of the unknown about the pandemic. We recommend that the government, regulatory bodies, and other stakeholders regulate the large volume of misinformation coming through social media platforms. Furthermore, much effort is needed by Ghana's Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Service to provide adequate health education on COVID-19 to promote public mental health

Is “One-Teacher-To-All-Subjects” Enough? Ghana’s Public Primary School System on a Slippery Slope

Primary school teachers in Ghana are made to teach based on the ‘generalist’ philosophy while their colleagues in the high schools run the ‘specialist’ viewpoint. Although, arguments made in support of this perspective may point at the universal training offered to these teachers, little is known about its effectiveness and challenges. Results from thematic analysis showed that both primary school teachers and pupils were generally not comfortable with generalist philosophy. These findings suggest that policies focused on teacher placements in primary schools must start looking at a possible adoption of subject-specific teaching, at least in the upper primary (4-6) levels

Predictors of Contraceptive Use in Ghana: Role of Religion, Region of Residence, Ethnicity and Education

Effective contraceptive use prevents most reproductive health challenges. The aim of this study is to identify the demographic predictors of contraceptive usage in Ghana. Using a logistic regression analysis, a sample size of 4916 women of the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS) 2008 were selected. Results showed that religion is the most important predictor among the demographic factors. Ethnicity of the women, level of education and region of residence were also found to be statistically significantly. Contraceptive health promotion should be intensified as the best option for preventing unintended pregnancies in the respective variables

ORGANISATIONAL COMMITMENT AND CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOUR: TOOLS TO IMPROVE EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE; AN INTERNAL MARKETING APPROACH

The aim of the study is to assess how organisational commitment and organisational (OCB) citizenship impacts on employee performance in the banking industry. The research was a non-experimental, explorative, quantitative study. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of two hundred (200) employees from 10 different commercial banks in Ghana to assess whether their performance was influence by their commitment and citizenship behaviour. The results revealed that there is a positive correlation between organisational commitment and organisational citizenship (r = .910**, ρ ≤ 0.01). In addition, it was found that organisational commitment (β =0.406, t=2.493, P = 0.030 &lt; 0.05), when added to organisational citizenship (β =0.589 t=6.216, P = 0.000 &lt; 0.05) produced a greater ΔR2, that is 0.891** as compared to their impact individually. In conclusion, the study result suggests that banks in Ghana can better influence and improve employee performance by combining organisational commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour as internal marketing tools. In addition, the firms should concentrate more efforts on building OCB in employees, if they are to improve performance significantly

‘Unattractive, So Hopeless?’ Feelings of Physical Unattractiveness and Hopelessness among Senior High Students

This study sought to investigate the influence of feelings of unattractiveness on hopelessness among adolescents. Using the cross-sectional survey design, total of 150 participants from two categories of senior high schools were sampled for the study. To achieve the aim for this study, the interaction effect of the following on hopelessness was investigated: gender and perceived attractiveness, school and perceived attractiveness and, religiosity and perceived attractiveness. Results showed that there was a significant positive relationship between perceived physical attractiveness and hopefulness. Implications of findings are discussed